


The son of a legend is a disaster gay and no one knows

by I_Am_Bread



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Ben 10 Classic, But since I am myself, Fluff and Angst, Gay disaster, Happy Ending, I have forgotten how to write heterosexual relationships, Idk if Ken is gay, Inspired by Fanart, Light Angst, M/M, Next Generation, Self Confidence, Self-Indulgent, Shipping, That's not a real tag and that makes me sad, This is purely self indulgence, fast paced, he is in my eyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 18:55:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28783041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Am_Bread/pseuds/I_Am_Bread
Summary: Ken Tennyson is starting school at the Plumber Academy. While he's not apposed to the attention he gets from his father being who he is, he's also not overly fond of it either. However, he runs into a surprisingly hot tetramand, and things take a strange turn. Just as he and Xavier start to communicate, Professor Paradox shows up, and everyone knows that when he shows up, something is really wrong.This was just a one-shot I wanted to write but imma probably continue this. Anyways...
Relationships: Ken Tennyson/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey, Ken, wake up~" Ken cracked his eyes open at the sound of his mother's voice floating through his door. 

"Noooo~" Ken whined as he buried his face deeper into his pillow. A swishing sound was heard as the door opened up, revealing Kai's silhouette standing in the doorway of his dark room. Ken pulled his blanket over his head to defend against the light spilling into the room from the hallway. 

"Come on. You really wanna be late for your first day at the plumber academy, don'tcha? I thought that was your dream, Kenny? To be a plumber that one day beat his very own father?" She flicked her hand as she started walking away. "Well too bad you're throwing that chance away. Say," she paused and dramatically put a finger to her chin, "didn't you get in via special request by the headmaster himself?" 

Ken's eyes popped open and he sat up. "I did?"

"Yes, if I recall so. Would be such a rude waste to throw away admission~" Kai wandered away, a smirk on her face.

…

"Did'ya manage to wake Sleeping Beauty?" Ben asked as the door slid shut behind Kai. 

"I think I motivated him enough to get to the building." Kai replied as she sat behind a plate of a sort of Khorosian dish. 

"Manny and Helen's kid got into the academy. Maybe Ken will make friends with him."

"I didn't know Hellen and many even had a kid." 

"Really? He's about Ken's age and got in by recommendation."

"Huh."

"MOM, DAD, I'M READY TO GO!" The door slid open with a swish and Ken walked in, a look of mischievous determination in his eyes. 

"Yeah I think I got him up."

…

Ken wandered down the halls of the academy. He felt like he stuck out in the sea of aliens, even though he was an alien to them as much as they were to him. He felt like his dark hair and tan skin didn't quite fit in with the many reds, blues, green, and yellows. 

He collided with someone else. Someone big and muscular, and fell to the ground.

He looked up at the tetramand. The tetramand in question turned away from the girls who were flirting with him. 

"Oh, are you ok?"

"Oh I'm fine. I wasn't paying attention, sorry about that!" Ken said as he accepted the hand the tetramand offered. 

"Ah don't worry about it. The name's Xavier Armstrong."

"Like Manny and Hellen Armstrong? We're they your parents?" 

"Yeah, they are."

"So you're like, half earthling! Like me! Your parents are good friends of mine."

"Really? Who are your parents?" 

"B~ you know what, it's not important. Anyways, I'm Ken." 

"Nice to meet you, Ken! So is it your first year here?"

By now, the girls had long since lost interest and left. 

"Yeah. You?" 

"Second. So-" the bell cut off Xavier. "Oh, next bell's the tardy bell. I'll see you around!" 

"I- yeah…" as Xavier went around Ken, Ken could feel his face heating up a bit." 

He wandered into his classroom, eyes glazed over. The desks were lined up with small desks in the front and larger in the back. He walked to one that looked suitable for his size and sat down.

"Excuse me, but I have a question." Ken looked down at his desk to see a galvin boy with a beanie and glasses looking up at him. 

"Uh, yeah? What is it?" 

"You are Earthling, correct?" 

"I- yeah."

"May I inquire as to why your facial region redens in color? Is it a safety mechanism? Or does it have something to do with mood or well-being?" 

"Well, I guess all human traits bear some form of primitive survival instinct in some way shape or form. I guess-"

"Alright, everyone, settle down." The teacher at the front of the room clapped her pinchers together. 

"I insist you tell me later," the galvin said as he scurried to his seat, which was just a mini desk on the table of the normal sized one in the front row. 

"My name is Diathorn. You may call me any variation of that if it better suits your native tongue, because I know these universal translators can't do everything. Anyways, I will be doing roll call next, should you go by something else, tell me when I reach your name."

The list went on, and Ken learned the galvin boy's name was Tylium. Then she paused and squinted down at her tablet screen. 

"I- um… Kenneth… Kenneth Tennyson?"

"... here."

The class erupted. 

"Tennyson? Like Ben Tennyson?" "Ben 10's son?" "Ben 10K has a kid!" "In our class no less!"

Ken was not used to so much attention, even out in public. He ducked his head, the red returning to his face. A small smile cracked at the edge of his lips. 

"Alright, alright, yes the savior of the universe has a kid in our class. Now if you don't pipe down we're not going to get anything done in here. Now, Itari…"

For the rest of the class, Ken constantly felt someone's eyes burning into his skin until he had enough. He raised his hand. 

"Yes, mr, uh, mr Tennyson?" 

"Look, I don't know about the rest of your species, but us earthlings can feel it when someone is watching us. Everyone constantly looking at me is making me uncomfortable, so will you please stop?" 

"That is new information," someone said. 

"Well," said a girl, "it's true. I thought you all knew that?" 

"Amari, there are countless intelligent species in the universe. What makes you think we would know much less remember that earthlings can feel when they're being watched?" One boy on the other side of Ken snapped. 

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Before Ken out even stood up, people were surrounding his desk. 

"What's it like being Ben 10K's kid?" "Do you have an omnitrix too?" "Do you get to save the universe like your dad?" 

"I- look, I don't think my life is all you think it's cracked up to be. I mean, I'm here at school, where I have classes I need to get to." 

"Aw come on, at least answer-" 

"To your next class, please!" The teacher called. The aliens groaned as they shuffled from the room. 

Ken caught up to Amari further down the hall. 

"Hey, you, the conductoid girl!" 

She turned. "Oh, small ben 10." Yeah, what's up?" 

"I, uh, just wanted to thank you for backing me up earlier." 

"Ah, no big deal. But I gotta know, how does that sense work? Is it like a feeling in your mind or a poking sensation?"

"It really just feels like an uncomfortable warming sensation where we're being looked at. I'm not exactly sure how it works."

"Yes, yes, go on!" 

The two turned to see the galvin from earlier standing on a small path built on the wall for the easy transportation of smaller students. 

"Oh, Tylium, was it?" 

"Yes yes, now meet me during lunch and please tell me all about your kind! I think earthlings are astounding!" 

"Uh, is that supposed to be a compliment?" 

"I only find your species cool because of your regenerative aspect," Amari said. 

"Really? What about it?" 

"Yes, the conductoid is correct. One of the earthling's strongest qualities is their ability to heal and regenerate at incredible speeds!"

"I have a name you know." Amari scolded 

"Yes, I would expect an earthling of all aliens to know that your regenerative capabilities far surpass most all other known intelligent species."

"I actually did not know that. Well, anyways, nice meeting you two. See ya later."

Ken waved as he went down the hall. 

…

The rest of his classes went by the same way. Teacher called roll, students freaked out over Ben 10's son being in their class, and him having to deal with looks ranging from aw struck to confusion.

Lunch couldn't come soon enough. Luckily, he had his class before it with Amari, and Tylium showed up out of nowhere again. 

"Dude you have got to stop doing that," Ken commented as he appeared beside him again. 

"Dudes, when you get your lunch, follow me," Amari said as they walked into the cafeteria. 

…

The three sat at a bench pressed up against the outer window of the academy building. Ken chewed slowly as he gazes out at the endless sea of stars. 

"Amari to Ken Tennyson, come in, Ken."

"What? Oh. Sorry." 

"Why are you so interested in space?"

"Well, my family lives in space only partially for my dad's work. It's also because space is really cool and beautiful."

"Eh, you've seen one inch of space, you've seen it all."

"Actually, you would be surprised." 

"Ok, enough banter! Ken, you said you would tell me why your face turns different colors!" 

"I didn't actually say anything-"

"Silence! Enlighten me!" 

Ken took a breath before explaining the inner workings of the bloodstream and how they contract, expand, and link to emotions, and physical status. Tylium seemed to write everything down in a small galvin-sized notebook. 

"So there's your answer." 

"Incredible! I wasn't aware earthlings were capable of such things by a mere thought!"

…

Ken walked into his sixth and final class of the day, slightly strung out. However, his eyes caught sight of a familiar red-skinned, four-armed boy. He could feel his heart speed up. He instinctively walked over. Maybe Xavier deserved to know the truth before the teacher once again outed him. Maybe if Ken left him in the dark, he would get mad and not like him? What if-"

"Oh, hey, Ken!" Xavier waved. 

"Oh! Uh, hey! Xavier! You're here! Well I mean of course you're here you go to school here, where I go now, with, uh, you." 

Xavier squinted one of his eyes. 

"Have I been talking for too long?" 

"Well I certainly am glad we're in the same class. This hour. Generally, year groups don't mix even in electives."

"Well, this is the basics of planetary cultures. I assume you didn't take this class last year?"

"Nope. I took hand-to-hand I last year. I only need two more Hand-to-hand units to graduate and I plan on doing one next semester."

"Hm. Well, I'm taking as many combat classes as I can. Wanna surpass my father one day. Speaking of, I wanted to tell you something about him."

"Yeah?"

"Well you see, he's"

"Alrighty, bell has rung it is time for everyone here to sit down!"

"Ben 10" Ken quickly whispered as he took the chair in front of Xavier. 

"What did you say?" Xavier whispered back. 

Ken kept his eyes glued forward, waiting for the moment when the teacher would call role and inevitably reveal to his remaining clueless classmates just who he was.

"Ken Te- I'm sorry am I reading this correctly? It's not a typo? Ken Tennyson?"

Ken raised his hand. "Here. Yeah, that's my name, no typo." 

Excited whispers rippled through the classroom. Ken looked back at Xavier. All four of his eyes were wide in surprise, and staring directly into Ken's green ones. 

"Heh, cool." 

Ken smiled and turned back to the teacher, a stupid smile spreading over his face.


	2. Apparently I wrote this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one isn't even half of the length of the last chapter, but I promise, next chapter will be much better.

By the third week of school, everyone had gotten pretty used to Ken being around. People treated him like royalty, and many girls tried to ask him out. Ken gradually got used to this popularity, and learned to handle it better. 

One day, during their lunch period, Ken, with Tylium on his shoulder, walked into the cafeteria, seeking out his conductoid friend. 

"Oi, Ken!" 

Ken turned with a twinge of annoyance to where the voice called, but any negative emotions quickly trickled away when he saw who called. It was Xavier. He was waving the earthling over. Ken managed to suppress the red creeping under his eyes as he walked over. 

Xavier was sitting with his clique of aliens from the Scipa system. 

"What's up, Ken?"

"Nothing much, man, what's going on with you?" The two clasped hands in a bro handshake. 

"By celestialsapiens, you weren't lying!" One of Xavier's friends exclaimed. "You really are friends with him!" 

"Well yeah, us earthlings gotta stick together." 

Ken raised an eyebrow. "Buuuuut you're only half earthling." 

Xavier put his hand over Ken's mouth. "Irrelevant. Guys, you know Ken, Ken, these are my buddies, (insert alien names that in the long run are irrelevant because this could most likely end up being the only time we ever see them)." 

"Hello" "hey" "sup" 

"What does 'sup' mean?"

"Oh, it's slang. A shortened and slurred way of saying what's up." 

"Also, Ken, don't you, Tylium, and the conductoid girl have a free period during fifth period?" Xavier asked. 

"As a matter of fact, we do." Tylium spoke up from Ken's shoulder. "We spend it in the library."

"Oh wow, I honestly forgot that you were there," Ken said. 

"Ah, I've grown accustomed to such since leaving Galvin B."

"Anyways," Xavier continued, "meet me there. Got something for ya."

"Oh, ok, that-" 

"Yo, Kenny, let's go," Amari called from across the cafeteria. 

"I'll uh, see you guys around." 

"Good bye, acquaintances of Xavier." 

…

True to his word, Xavier arrived at the library, where Ken, Tylium, and Amari were. 

Ken stood bolt upright as he came in. 

Xavier walked up and reached into his pocket. "Hey, Ken, here's-"

A blinding light behind him cut him off. Ken knew exactly what it was, from experiencing it so much himself. The light faded and a figure stood there in fine clothes.

"Ah, young master Tennyson."

"Professor Paradox!" 

"Uh, Kenny, who's that?" Amari asked. 

"Professor Paradox, the immortal time walker. He's friends with my dad, and I've met him a few times." 

"Yes, I'm afraid that the universe may need you this time, Kenneth, and not your father." 

"What? Why? What's going on? Why can't dad help? What about mom?"

"Should your father intervene or even gain knowledge of this situation, it can only end in catastrophe. Regarding the situation, I may tell you that time travel is a risky gamble. This trip alone to warn you could have had disastrous effects. At present, there is a core in the abandoned planet of Lichea. It is growing unstable. As a result, it is sending out fluctuations in space time. Think of it like a sheet of paper. If you wave it up and down, poking even a small hole and tear and damage more than you intended. Should the core be allowed to collapse completely in about a day, it will bring down the entire galaxy." 

"So what do I need to do?"

"You, and your friends must go there and may do one of two things. Destroy the core, or stabilize it using a Shard of Infinity."

"Great, let's go tell the missions commander that we need a ship and go!" Amari said. 

"Didn't you hear Paradox? We can't let dad know about this, and if we tell the authorities, they're going to tell our parents."

"So, what are we supposed to do? Steal a ship? We'll get suspended if not expelled if we do that!" 

"I don't know, Paradox, what should-" but when Ken turned back to the time walker, he was gone. "What? Where- when-?" 

"So guys," Xavier said, "you wanna risk expulsion for the sake of a galaxy?"


	3. Liz, stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team go to the dying planet, and Ken if left on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a little fast paced. A lot happens in this chapter and ends on a cliffhanger, but I'll try my best to get the last chapter out today.

"I cannot believe that we're actually doing this." Tylium said as he strapped himself into a chair. 

"Can you actually fly this thing?" Amari asked. Ken, who sat in the pilot's seat, flipped a switch as the ship hummed to life. 

"I've driven my family's ship enough to know how to get it going."

"And other functions?"

The ship lifted off the ground. "I'm sure it can't be hard. Now how do I open the hangar doors?"

"Give me one moment" Tylium announced, typing at a tablet which was hooked up to the console. "The only way this can be done discreetly is if I disengage all warning alarms." Xavier punched the camera on the console. "If I can just temporarily reroute the primary script…" on the other side of the hanger, the warning lights flashed.

"Warning. Hangar door opening. Lock down all items and leave the hangar in 10… 9…"

"You guys strapped in?" Ken called. Xavier gave a thumbs up, while Amari looped her antenna around the armrests. "Sweet."

All the air in the hangar shot out the growing crack in the doors. Ken shot forward. The three passengers used every available appendage to latch themselves to their seats. 

"KEEEENN! I THINK WE'RE GOING TOO FAST!" Amari screamed. 

"We're making great time! We'll be there soon!" Ken called back. 

Sure enough, their rapid progress was quickly stopped by the ship shuttering and bouncing up and down. Ken drastically turned the speed down, but the shaking and movement continued for a moment longer. When it ended, everyone was grasping onto something. 

"Where are we?" Xavier finally asked. 

Ken pulled up the 3D map, then enlarged it for the others to see. "We're still over 5 star systems away. What do you think caused that shaking?" 

"I have a theory," Tylium announced. "Professor Paradox claimed that the core was sending out waves into space. What we felt was probably the tangible feedback of those occurrences."

"Yeah but so far out?" Amari asked.

Ken shrugged. "If that's the case, we really need to get over there and shut that core down." They nodded.

…

"Well, there's Lichea," Ken announced. They were coming up on a planet with a blue star. The planet was surrounded by a thick layer of asteroids and rocks, that slowly chipped away from the Lichean surface and floated into space. The majority of the planet was held together by plants.

"Woah" "this is what's left?" "The core did this." 

Ken expertly wove between the rocks. The ship jolted and shuttered when he failed to dodge one. Eventually though, he managed to roughly land then on the surface.

"The air here appears suitable for life. Space suits are unnecessary," Tylium said as everyone got up. 

"That makes things easier for us," Amari said, gripping the armrest in order to reorient herself. 

"Take caution. The ground on the planet is unstable." Tylium spoke from Xavier's shoulder. "May I add that my potential life and well being is currently riding on how steadily you walk." 

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be careful." 

"I'm now realizing that we have no real idea where this core is." Ken stated. 

"You just now realized this?" Amari asked. 

"Shuddup. Is there any way to figure it out?" 

"Here, Tetramand, hold this." Tylium dropped a device into Xavier's hands and began working with a smaller device. "The thing must have a strong energy source, so if I can input the natural atmosphere of Lichea and output the current one, extract the difference and download it into the radar…" the device, which happened to be a 3D map, lit up with the current shape of the planet. Two dots appeared on the map. One was red and the other white. "The white Indicates our location, and the red the unknown energy source." The red, coincidentally enough, wasn't too far away from where their beacon was, just under the surface. 

"Well, that's a little far away. Lets strap back down and fly over there," Ken told them, closing the door and walking back to the pilot's seat. Tylium and Amari groaned. 

"Tetramand, have me in your hand," Tylium commanded. "I don't believe Ken is a particularly safe driver."

"Geez, have faith in a man, Ty." Ken said.

…

They landed in an area with lots of holes in the ground, some sinkholes, craters, and where the ground below collapsed, but left the crust as a bridge. It looked like a giant prairie of brown and green cheese. 

"Well, shall we go down?"

…

Underground was almost just as erie. In the beginning, roots had reached down and creepily caressed their heads. As they descended further down, the plants stopped and moisture dropped from the ceiling in a dark lonely rhythm. Ken shivered, but from cold or chills, he wasn't sure. 

Eventually, they came upon a large crystal formation embedded in the ground. It was white, but it had a bit of a rainbow colored tint to it. Ken reached for it. 

"Don't." Amari said. Ken's hand flinched away from the pretty rock. "It's an infinity stone. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Whatever energy it comes into contact with, it absorbs and shoots out. Violently. This includes kinetic, thermal, and just regular energy. If you were to touch it, you would quickly become tired." Ken felt a big four fingered hand pull him away from it. 

…

The further they went down, the more common the rocks became. The quakes came more and more frequently, prompting the group to make haste. 

"So which way?" 

The group was now at a three-way fork in the tunnel. Tylium recalibrated the map. "We nee-" a violent tremble cut him off. This quake was much stronger than the last few. Amari, with Tylium on her shoulder, fell to the ground, Xavier grabbed the wall and Ken, stopping the both of them from falling as well. A deep cracking noise above them drew Ken's eyes to the roof. 

"The ceiling! It's coming down!" He called. 

Amari managed to grasp Tylium and scramble away before a section of the roof came down. Dust burned Ken's eyes and lungs, forcing him to close his eyes and duck his head away. The rumbling kept coming, and in a brief second, Xavier's hand left his shoulder, and pushed him with so much force he momentarily left the ground. He stumbled and rolled to the floor just as he heard the roof he had just been under crack and drop. His eyes shot open, but the dust forced him to close them again. Fearing what may have happened to his friends, his breathing quickened, taking in more dust. 

The quake stopped, leaving him in total silence aside from his wheezing and coughing. When his throat was satisfied enough to let him breath, he slowly rose before cracking open an eye, hoping the dust would have settled from his eye level by now. Luckily, it did. His eyes shot open all the way, profusely watering. Not only trying to get the dirt out, but also fear. 

"Xavier?!" He called into the semi darkness. The cavern was lit by the infinity stones. His horse voice didn't carry far, and he broke down in a fit of coughing again. "Amari, Tylium!" 

A voice so quiet and muffled that he didn't know what it said responded. But it didn't sound desperate, just questioning. 

"Oh thank the celestialsapiens you're alive." He muttered to himself. "Are you ok?!" He called. More quiet responses. 

A strange noise and a vibration in the floor made Ken turn towards the tunnel he was now trapped in. Aside from the faint glow of the stones, there was a brighter glow coming from the corridor. 

"What the~" he mused. He started forward. 

The tunnel wasn't that much longer. He walked for another minute before emerging into a moderately sized chamber. In the center, a circular altar stood with three rectangular pillars reaching up, but the tops had broken off and fallen outward. In the center of the altar, was I white orb, about the size of a chair, which hummed and flickered it's glowing. It looked like lava turned a white color. He could feel the irregular pulses emitting from it. One pulse was much more powerful, and knocked him on his bum, while the cavern around him trembled. 

Slowly and cautiously, he got up and walked forward. The closer he got, the harder it seemed to go forward, like trying to walk in the deep end of a wave pool. He picked up a rock, and chucked it at the core. As soon as it hit the surface, it glowed white and disintegrated. 

"How do I shut it down?" He asked himself. Another tremble brought a piece of the ceiling down, and when Ken turned to look, his eyes lit up. An Infinity stone was in the rock. "A shard of Infinity." 

He ran forward, but just as he was about to grab it, he froze, recalling Amari's warning. He looked around, desperate to figure out how to pick it up or break a piece off. 

His thoughts were interrupted but another powerful pulse and many more after. The cavern shook, and Ken fell on his stomach, barely avoiding hitting the stone with his face. Another piece of the roof fell as the quake continued, with no signs of stopping. He grimaced. 

"Blast it all." 

He sat up, grabbed the stone, and broke a piece off. Immediately, his hand started to burn, and his fingertips were quickly losing feeling. He got to his feet, struggling to stay steady with the everlasting quake. The closer he got, the more the core seemed to scream at him to stay back. A roar sounded in his ears as he forced his way through the thick powerful pulse barrier. Even with his movements becoming more sluggish from the shard, and the resistance from the core, he powered on. Finally, he thrust the shard into the core. The pulses grew in power, and she shard glowed furiously. Ken fought to keep his eyes open and legs strong. The roaring grew louder, and everything around him seemed to try to force him away from the core. 

Then the shard released the energy.


	4. Liz, Why? 😩

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens and... I'm a sucker for some romance cliches and angst. Seriously, this chapter is 80% fluff and angst. But with a happy ending!

"Hey, you guys ok?" Xavier called through the rock fall. 

"Yeah, we're ok!" Amari's muffled reply came. "Is Ken with you?" 

"No, he's on the other side of the wall." The floor vibrated. "Ty, do you have the map?" 

"He said no. It was crushed when I got us out of the way." 

"There's a tunnel down here. Try and meet me somewhere else."

"Yeah, let's do that. Good luck!" 

With that, Xavier walked down the tunnel. After a minute, another tremble shook the planet. He paused, and looked around. Something was off. Another tremble came, but it was much more powerful. He could hear the tunnels around him cracking and caving in. Behind him, the tunnel collapsed in, then the same happened a little ahead of him, trapping him in the spot. 

Was it just him, or did the quake just get stronger?

The ceiling above him started to crack. He dashed out of the way, just in time to narrowly avoid getting smothered. Unlike all the other cave-ins, this one left a gap where it had fallen from. He dug his feet from the dirt. As he did, a loud roar briefly echoed, before everything was still and silent. Too still. Too silent. He clambered up the rock slide up into the area it had called from. 

He appeared to be in a moderately sized cavern. In the center, a beaten grey stone platform sat, and strewn around it were what seemed to be remnants of tall pillars, infinity stones, and a dark heap on the floor. Wait…

He rushed over to the dark heap, a lump quickly forming in his throat. 

Ken didn't seem to be extremely hurt. He had scratches all over his body and face, and a seeping cut directly over his eye. His face was screwed up, presumably from pain. 

Xavier dropped to his knees beside his friend and rolled him onto his back. After quickly checking his breathing, he was relieved to find air being pushed from his nose, but it was weak, and short. 

He scooped his head up in his hand. "Hey, Ken, you with me?" He asked, though he very well knew the answer. Ken was unresponsive. "Ken buddy, please wake up…" he remained still, eyes closed. Instead of letting panic set in, he took a deep breath and scooped up his smaller friend in bridal style, using all four arms for support. 

He stood up and looked around. The only way out was either through the hole he came through, obviously blocked, the hole Ken must have come through, and a massive gaping hole in the ceiling, revealing multiple layers of tunnel, then the sunset. He hugged Ken tighter to his chest as he gazed up. Never had he thought he would feel so happy and relieved to see space. 

A thumping came from the wall. Xavier turned, lifting one arm to his gun. The wall burst open with a burst of yellow electricity, and Amari and Tylium stood there. Amari's tail was hooked to an infinity stone. 

"Finally, we found you!"

"Eh, is Ken alright?" 

Xavier looked down at his unconscious friend. "I… ah, I don't know. We need to get out of here. It looks like the easiest way to get to the surface is up." 

"And just how are we supposed to do that? I mean, multiple levels, one of us is way too small to do much on his own, and you're going to have to carry Ken if he doesn't wake up, because I just don't have that kind of strength." 

"Of course we also have to take into account that the sooner we return the better. I can only assume the authorities will have already sent out numerous search parties for us in the few hours we've been gone." 

Amari snickered. "You would think that they would put a tracking device in the ship."

"No they did, but educational systems don't get paid enough to afford the better ones with anti hacker software."

Xavier gently set Ken down. "Well, might as well get to work." He climbed up the wall to the next level, and punched the ceiling in, making it collapse and creating a slope, which made it easier for him to climb up to the next level, and do it again. Amari rushed forward, leaving Tylium to look after Ken. She started molding the rock slides and vertical walls into something she could climb. 

The process took about three hours, plus an extra hour to climb back down for their friends. Ken was still out cold. 

"Ty, you know when he'll wake up?" Xavier asked as he hoisted the earthling onto his back. 

"If what I'm assuming happened, happened, then he should come around in about… four hours." 

"What do you think happened?" Amari asked, lifting him to her shoulder. 

"The professor instructed us to use a shard of Infinity, yes? We can only assume it meant a shard of an infinity stone. He used that to destroy the core, but I assume with his bare hands. There also might have been an explosion, because this hole was not here before."

Xavier's heart dropped to his feet. "You mean he was caught up in an explosion of some type?" He used two hands to support Ken and two to start climbing up the wall. 

"Unfortunately, yes, but if that's the case, we need to get him help as soon as possible." 

"Yeah." 

The journey up was almost as long as the first time, but this time, instead of stopping to poke a hole in the ceiling, they stopped to make sure their passengers were secure, and to climb back up slopes they had slipped down. 

At long last, they reached the surface. Xavier breathed in a full lungs worth of fresh, non dusty musty air. 

"Man it feels good to be out of that hole," Amari said, swinging her arms back and forth. 

"The shuttle is over there," Tylium announced, pointing. "Be excessively careful. The ground would have become weaker since we went down." 

Miraculously, they managed to cross without a single accident. Amari slipped down a hidden hole, but managed to crawl back out on her own. 

Upon reaching the ship, Xavier laid Ken down on the fold-out medical bed. Ken had since lost the pained look on his face, and now looked more peaceful… cute, even. 

Xavier turned away, and let the heat spread over his face.

…

Ken groaned and cracked his eye open. The one that didn't feel like it was in fire at least. Everything around him was hazy, but he managed to pick out the smell of alcohol, quiet talking, and a bright white room. Painfully slowly, his arm drifted up to his right eye, but it felt like weights were tied to his arm. He touched it, and felt something soft keeping his hand from reaching his eye. His good eye adjusted to his surroundings, and he concluded he was in the medical wing of the plumber headquarters. He could recognize the room after spending so much time in here, helping the plumbers while his dad was off heroing. He opened his eyes all the way and turned his head, and gasped a little when he saw his half human friend. Xavier sat in a chair, all four eyes closed. Ken looked down and realized his hand was in Xavier's.

"Xa-vier…" he rasped out, squeezing his hand as much as his tired muscles would allow. Xavier's eyes shot open and looked at Ken. Ken smiled weakly. Tears welled up at the corner of Xavier's eyes, and before he knew what was happening, he was enveloped in all four of Xavier's arms. Ken managed to get a hand up to Xavier's back. 

"Three days! Ken, you were out for almost three days! Do you know how terrified your parents were? How scared I was? We weren't sure if you would pull through…" 

Ken's eye popped wide open when he felt Xavier's lips on his head. Xavier quickly pulled away, face turning a black tinted red. 

"S-sorry I shouldn't have-" 

Ken only reached out with his hand. "I don't mind," he whispered as not to hurt his throat. He smiled. 

The two went in for another hug, and Xavier planted another kiss on the top of his head. 

The door flew open, and Ken's parents came rushing in. Kai and Ben immediately took Ken from Xavier, and smothered him in hugs and parental kisses of over exuberant love. Unfortunately, Ken still didn't have enough energy to fight back, and was forced to endure his parents. 

"I'm just going to leave…" Xavier said, backing out. Ken was disappointed to see him go, partly because he was now left to fend for himself against his parents' inevitable scolding.

"Paradox told us what happened and where you went," Kai said, releasing Ken. "And I want you to know, we aren't mad."

"A little mad."

"Maybe a little mad, but we understand." 

Ken smiled and leaned back into his bed. 

"We still don't know what happened with your eye though," Ben said, pointing. 

"Oh that…" Ken remembered the shard of Infinity flying from his hand and towards his face as it shot energy out. "I don't know."

…

Life after that became pretty good. Aside from the occasional attack by some shmoe hopeful to take Ken as ransom, but they were always taken care of, mostly by Ken himself. 

Ben deemed him responsible enough to get his omnitrix back, and enjoyed shifting and impressing his peers. 

Though he did end up blind in his right eye, he had a cool scar to show for it and a story to go with it.

And he and Xavier FINALLY got together. After about three months of dancing around their feelings. Apparently, there had been some bets going around, and Amari became over a thousand units richer. 

…

"Come on, come on!" Ken pulled Xavier up a nature trail. 

"Don't know if you know this, but humans tend to be more agile."

"But you're half human, and technically speaking, only a fourth tetramand." 

Xavier rolled his eyes, and Ken turned. As he continued up the path, he rammed straight into a tree. 

"Are you ok?" Xavier called. 

Ken rubbed his head. "Yeah, just still not used to my lack of depth perception." Xavier laughed as he caught up. "Come on, it's just around the corner!" They rounded the bend, and Xavier's breath caught in his throat. 

He had been many places and seen a million times more things, but nothing could beat looking at the sunset over Bellwood. There was a special way the orange glow caught on the shiny white and glass surfaces of the diverse modern buildings, and how the silhouettes aliens flying stuck out in the clear evening sky. 

"Wow~" he breathed. The two sat down on the grassy path. Xavier looked over to his boyfriend. Even though he couldn't use his right eye, it sparkled and held admiration as if it were still alive. "Kenny, I wanted to give you something." Ken turned his attention to Xavier, and quirked an eyebrow. "Back that day a few months ago, when that whole incident happened, I wanted to give you this." He held out a little charm. It was circular, and had white peace symbol over a green background. "It to the heartbeat of the other that holds it's partner. See?" He pressed it into Ken's hand, and it vibrated to Xavier's heart, which was only slightly faster than a humans. He held up his own, which was a green peace symbol over white. 

"It's amazing," Ken said, launching himself into Xavier's arms. 

And so there they sat, watching the sunset, feeling their heartbeats, enjoying each other's company. 

Nothing could go wrong now.

...


End file.
